Sunday, July 25, 2010
How NOT to Pack a Kayak, Part II
A couple of months ago I posted this short Youtube clip about a fellow that exercised poor judgement in their approach to kayak packing. Well, after seeing a photo on Lee's blog, apparently they are in good company. Head over to the link for the second instalment in the developing series of how not to pack your boat.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
One Helluva Sock
A while ago Fiona over at Badger Paddles sent me a sample of one of their "paddle socks" to test out and review. Well, I've been using the sock a bit now and am pretty happy with it. It's long & stretchy and easily accommodates my very long voyageur canoe paddle. It even contains about 3/4 of my greenland kayak paddle, with the kid's kayak paddle thrown inside too.
Soon, the sock will be protecting a couple of my paddles all the way to the west coast and BC's Broken Group Islands and back again. I'll post a follow up report on the sock at that time and let y'all know my thoughts on it then.
Soon, the sock will be protecting a couple of my paddles all the way to the west coast and BC's Broken Group Islands and back again. I'll post a follow up report on the sock at that time and let y'all know my thoughts on it then.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
I Rolled, I Rolled! - I mean it this time!
I Rolled! No really, I mean it this time! (See my post from a couple of weeks ago.)
Last night at the tail end of the pool session for some kayak lessons I was assisting with there was time to just mess around in the kayaks. I was again playing with the paddle float for bracing and pseudo-rolling. I was concentrating on not putting much pressure on the float end of the paddle and bringing my head up last. At the prompting of one of the students I tried without the float, and it worked! I had full success about 6 times rolling on the right side! I'd screw it up some of the time and always it was because I forgot to bring the head up last or was otherwise putting too much pressure on the paddle. When it worked, it worked very well. I could not believe how effortless it was. It was a VERY good feeling.
Now, to practice, practice, practice until it becomes totally natural on both sides and in all conditions.
In the meantime, I gotta go finish getting my stuff together because I have kayak lessons to teach in the morning.
Bryan H. says I should start working on my butterfly roll next. (The video below is of some random person on Youtube doing a "butterfly roll".)
Last night at the tail end of the pool session for some kayak lessons I was assisting with there was time to just mess around in the kayaks. I was again playing with the paddle float for bracing and pseudo-rolling. I was concentrating on not putting much pressure on the float end of the paddle and bringing my head up last. At the prompting of one of the students I tried without the float, and it worked! I had full success about 6 times rolling on the right side! I'd screw it up some of the time and always it was because I forgot to bring the head up last or was otherwise putting too much pressure on the paddle. When it worked, it worked very well. I could not believe how effortless it was. It was a VERY good feeling.
Now, to practice, practice, practice until it becomes totally natural on both sides and in all conditions.
In the meantime, I gotta go finish getting my stuff together because I have kayak lessons to teach in the morning.
Bryan H. says I should start working on my butterfly roll next. (The video below is of some random person on Youtube doing a "butterfly roll".)
Friday, July 09, 2010
A+S+T/RC+c=X
In the name of passing along valuable information of use to the canoe & kayak tripper, I am sharing this with all of you. Skuntz over at the Canadian Canoe Routes forum has come up with a formula to calculate and quantify the age old decision, "repair or replace?"
There you go. Plug in the number and find out if fixing up that bit of camping gear is really worth it. Let's see now, I have a leaking MEC sleeping pad. A=3, S=0, T=0, RC=$100, ....
A+S+T/RC+c=X
where A=age, S= sentimental value, T=time to dick around with repairs, RC=replacement cost and c=comfort.
There you go. Plug in the number and find out if fixing up that bit of camping gear is really worth it. Let's see now, I have a leaking MEC sleeping pad. A=3, S=0, T=0, RC=$100, ....
Friday, July 02, 2010
Again?....Sheesh!
I can't believe it happened again, for the second time in a row excluding the pre-season. Sheesh.
On the other hand, it was one helluva game and their inability to count just added to the drama. My brother had called me to ask if I wanted to go and an hour later we were on the road to Regina.
On the other hand, it was one helluva game and their inability to count just added to the drama. My brother had called me to ask if I wanted to go and an hour later we were on the road to Regina.
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